Will Smith and Jennifer Lopez Were Considered to Lead ‘A Star is Born’
A Star Is Born is perhaps the best film of 2018. The fourth remake of the 1937 musical told the love story between the young aspiring musician Ally and a famous musician called Jackson Maine, who battles his alcohol demons.
The film grossed a whopping $432 million on a $36 million budget. Interestingly, Lady Gaga and Bradley Cooper weren’t the original choices to play the lead characters. Actor and singer Jennifer Lopez addressed rumors about being approached to star in the musical alongside Will Smith. Read on to know why the two talented stars didn’t star on A Star Is Born despite having an impressive career trajectory.
Will Smith almost wasn’t The Fresh Prince
In the late 80s, Will Smith was mostly a rapper who went by the name The Fresh Prince. This alias didn’t stick until he landed his famous role on the ABC sitcom The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air. The series was built around Smith and followed his daily shenanigans as he tried to navigate the rich life he had been tossed into when living with his rich uncle in Bel-Air.
The sitcom lasted for six seasons and launched Will Smith’s career, making him one of the worlds’ most bankable actors. In the mid-90s, Smith found himself more involved in acting. He landed his famous buddy cop role alongside Martin Lawrence called Bad Boys, which was commercially successful.
In 1997, Smith starred in yet another blockbuster titled the Men in Black alongside Tommy Lee Jones. Smith also portrayed the boxing legend, Muhammad Ali in a widely praised portrayal of the famous boxer. The role earned him two nominations, an Academy Award for Best Actor, and a Globe Award for Best Actor.
Smith has been involved with several high-grossing films such as Suicide Squad, Gemini Man, and the Bad Boys reboot Bad Boys for Life. The 52-year-old actor has established himself as one of the most influential celebrities globally.
Jennifer Lopez is more than just a singer
Lopez might be an excellent singer, but she is known for more than just her singing prowess. Lopez, also known to her fans as J.LO has made a name for herself as a singer, songwriter, actress, producer, and designer.
The 51-year-old star’s first significant role came when she played the Mexican singer/ icon Selena Quintanilla in the biopic Selena. Lopez pulled all the stops in her exemplary portrayal of the Mexican singer. The role opened doors for the Latina star as she landed more roles after the biopic came out.
In 1997 and 1998, Lopez starred in the films Anaconda and Out Of Sight. The Latina star got busy in the late 90s as she juggled acting and releasing her well-received studio albums. Her second studio album J.LO was released in 2001 alongside the movie The Wedding Planner.
The simultaneous release of both works made her the first woman to even have two top-charting works. Lopez starred in the commercial flop Gigli alongside Matt Damon then went on to achieve further success with the 2004 film Shall We Dance and subsequent 2005 film Monster-in-Law.
Today, Lopez is known for her judging abilities on American Idol and World of Dance. She was also ranked as one of the world’s most influential people and established herself as the highest-paid Latina actress.
Smith and Lopez were picked to star in A Star Is Born
It is almost impossible to imagine that Ally and Jackson in A Star Is Born could’ve been played by none other than Lady Gaga and Bradley Cooper. The truth is that Gaga and Cooper weren’t the original choices for the lead roles in the hit film.
In an interview with Extra, Lopez addressed rumors that she and Smith were the showrunner’s original choice for Ally and Jackson. The 51-year-old icon stated that she and Smith had been in talks with the showrunners about the project, but “it just never took off.’
The two eventually dropped out of the project, and Cooper decided to take on the role in March 2013, with Gaga joining the cast in August that year.
